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Used EV sales spike alongside gas prices
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2026
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The high gas prices may have added fuel to the fire, but the best news here is that used EVs are growing in popularity. That is a consequence of us finding out batteries don't degrade as fast as we first imagined, which makes used EVs a lot more interesting.
In the short term, that kills the market for new EVs, since used ones were so dirt cheap. In the long run, the resale value of new EVs will be much more stable, eliminating the last downside they had.
(Obviously, many car makers saw the short term pain and gave up on the entire market. That is of course because car maker CEOs are absolutely brilliant people with foresight and strategic thinking. Just kidding: they occupy the only category of jobs that should absolutely be replaced by AI.)
I hope more people try it because hot damn, I love having an EV. We got a gently used Bolt last year and it’s exceeded my expectations in every way. It’s quick and QUIET inside and so far we haven’t had the need to go beyond a regular old wall socket 120V charger (we mostly just drive in-town). But wow I love driving it and never stopping to gas it or even change the oil. It’s such a simple and satisfying experience.
There really was a huge increase in the number of EV models available between model years 2018 and 2023.
So now, when you're looking to buy a 3-year-old car, you have so many more EV options to choose from even compared to just 2 years ago.
You can choose different form factors (small cars, sedans, wagon/crossover/small SUVs, medium SUVs, literal pickup trucks), and basically any price tier from economy to ultra luxury high end.
Not every ecological niche was filled in the past 5 years, and some still need a bit more competition, but even with some pullback over the last year there are still plenty of new EVs hitting new categories (e.g., true three-row SUVs and minivans) that will feed into tomorrow's used market.
And not every model will survive. The future of all-electric full size pickups looks pretty grim. Some entire companies might not survive the EV transition (looking at you, Honda). But overall, the used market will fill out with what was hitting the new market 5-10 years ago, and we'll start to see a lot of consumer preferences start showing what the future of cars will look like.